Page 88 of Hunted Innocence

They smile simultaneously. My hand is released, and they take a step backward, then wordlessly turn toward the door,and I watch them walk out together, hand in hand, naked asses disappearing one after the other.

It didn’t occur to me.

It never has occurred to me that someone would want to be in the position they’re in, the one I was in at a young age. That maybe, just maybe, they have found happiness in their bound hands.

When they are gone, I stay in the bathroom for a moment longer, then I do as they suggested. I slip out of the room, turn left, and walk right out of the back of the club. I am slammed with the thick air, just like when I walked out of the airport doors.

Struggling to breathe, I close my eyes for just a moment, inhaling and exhaling until I can accept the thick air. Opening my eyes, I look left and right, realizing that I’m not only in the back of the club, but I’m in an alleyway.

A shiver of dread slithers down my spine. Moving toward the street, I hope that whatever lurks in the dark shadows around me leaves me alone. My feet move quickly, carrying me to the public sidewalk, and I let out a sigh of relief the moment I step out and hear the giggling of women’s voices, the loud music pouring out of the club, and the deep voices of the men coming and going.

With my phone in hand, I find theUberapp so I can go back to the hotel. I need to pack my shit and go home. I’m playing a game that is over my head. I need to go back to my safe life, the one where I go to work and go home, nothing more, nothing less. And I need to accept who and what I am.

Freedom is not for the weak, and I am indeed not strong enough for it yet.

GRAYSON

Once I amsure that Nadine is safely out of the club and away from the target, I get into the car and drive straight to the hotel where she’s staying. Theron granted me access to her room, so that’s where I am.

Waiting for her.

Sitting on the sofa in the dark, ready to throttle the absolute shit out of Nadine, I wait. She appears not long after me. The door opens, but she doesn’t flip on the lights immediately. I listen for the door to close and for her to flip the lock into place.

I hear her let out a heavy sigh, then a soft moan, and for a moment, I think she may not be alone, even though I know better. Nadine came here for me. She would not bring someone else here, and I saw the way she was with the target. It wouldn’t be him.

The light flicks on, and she drops her high heels on the floor with a thud. I can’t take my eyes off her. She’s stunning. The dress is far too tight, extremely too short, but she’s sexy as fuck.

Sinking my teeth into my bottom lip, I tilt my head to the side, watching her as she moves toward me, not noticing me at all. As someone who was on the run and always had to look over her shoulder, she really fucking has no concept of being watched.

She moves toward me, then stops and turns to me, her eyes wide. She opens her mouth, then snaps her lips closed. Her eyes stay wide as she stares at me. Resting my elbows on the arms of the chair, I press my hands together in front of my mouth.

“Grayson?” she asks, having the nerve to sound surprised.

“Did you think I would sit across that bar and watch that man touch you and ogle you without coming to you?”

She has the nerve to blink as if she is surprised by my statement. As much as I want to stand up and make my way toward her, pick her up, carry her away, and fuck her until she’s screaming my name, I don’t—at least not yet.

“I don’t know,” she whispers.

Arching a brow, I don’t look away. I stare right at her. I’m not sure if I should be as pissed off as I am or impressed that she attracted the target so much so that he was clearly into her, ignoring the rest of his women.

“Lucille had a plan. I thought it was crazy, but I thought it might work.”

“And you thought that I would see his hands on you, scoop you up, and we would ride away into the sunset.”

It’s a statement, not a question.

It is what she wanted, and I know this because of the text Theron sent me about taking a vacation.

Nadine doesn’t respond to me. Instead, I watch as tears fill her eyes. I’ve hurt her again. It seems that’s about all I’m good at when it comes to her—to us.

And yet, she was right to think that I would be upset watching another man’s hands on her. It wouldn’t have mattered who it was, target or not. But seeing that man touch any part of her was rage-inducing.

“I don’t know. I was desperate. You made these choices for me. Walking away when I’m finally able to live. You took my life away, Grayson.”

Standing, I move toward her in silence. She stays where she is, unmoving and maybe even unbreathing, I’m not sure. When I’ve closed the distance between us, I lift my hand to cup her cheek and press my mouth against her forehead for a kiss.

She lets out a heavy sigh. Shifting my head back slightly, I lower my face and touch my mouth to hers, sliding my tongue along the seam of her lips. She thankfully parts them for me so I can taste her.

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